Once again, Pistons fans were left disappointed with a return package from a trade made by their favorite team. Giving up Isaiah Stewart for just 3 second-rounders was obvious a painful blow, but it's not the first time that sentiment has crept up during Trajan Langdon's tenure.
Another notable example was trading away Jaden Ivey at the trade deadline and only getting back Kevin Huerter and a pick swap. When you put it all together, you see a picture forming of Langdon as someone who's willing to accept subpar returns in trades. Ironically, this is the exact opposite problem from the previous front office, when Troy Weaver would often hold on to players too long because the return offers didn't meet his own high expectations.
Langdon's weakness is costing the Pistons
Sure, the Pistons got added financial flexibility out of trading away both Ivey and Stewart. But they could have reasonably been expected to net better returns considering the remaining potential of Ivey and obvious production of Stewart when the two players were traded.
In today's NBA, building a solid team and keeping it together has become more challenging than ever. Obviously financial flexibility is needed with the current CBA but getting back good assets in trades is also very important. The Thunder didn't just build their current roster overnight; they maximized trade returns for years to stockpile assets.
For some real perspective on Isaiah Stewart's poor trade return, we need look no further than the actual picks that were traded for him. On Tuesday night, the Pistons traded three second-round picks to move up and select Ebuka Okorie in the first round of the draft. On Tuesday night, they traded Stewart to get those same three picks back. For those keeping score at home, that means Stewart was essentially traded to move up from draft slot 21 to 17.
The Pistons need to be tighter with their trade assets
Detroit desperately needs to recognize that just having cap space without trade assets isn't enough in today's league. Since most noteworthy players are constantly signing extensions rather than hitting free agency, it does a team no good to have room on the payroll without anything desirable to trade.
The best-run franchises are able to maximize their returns and value on the margins, by winning trades and hitting in the draft. If the Pistons are consistently shooting themselves in the foot with weak trade returns and playing too well to have high draft picks, they'll have a tough time adding significant talent to their current team. Even though their core has already proven to be a winning regular season formula, the Pistons still need to make upgrades - and all that starts by winning trades.
Add us as a preferred source on Google